La Magie est Perdue à Minuit

Part One, Chapter Two

~~~~~

OCTOBER

"Marinette!! Hurry up!"

Chloe's loud, bothersome voice rang out through the open trapdoor. Marinette grabbed her backpack, climbed down the ladder, and, forgetting her phone, was halfway down when she realized it was on her bed. Quickly getting her phone, she raced downstairs again, opening the door of the Bourgeois' place to the outside... to find again that they left her- again. Marinette headed over to the bike rack and took her vintage-style bicycle out of the rack. Taking the bike on both handlebars, she frantically rode it to school, pedaling as fast as she can. She wasn't paying attention to the road. Right as a sleek black limo slowly pulled into a stoplight, she crashed head-on into it, obviously not paying attention.

Marinette fell off her bike and onto the street, unharmed as far as she knew. Her vision was blurry. She was dazed but not in pain. The driver, a huge, almost gorilla-like man threw open his door as the other doors flew open also. A tall boy about Marinette's age came out, and tried to ask her some questions. Are you ok? What is your name? Where are you going? Where do you go to school?

She tried to explain that she was late for school, and after a few questions, his driver simply lugged her slightly dented bike into the trunk. The boy helped her up and into the car, and Marinette's vision cleared. She looked up into those oh-too-familiar eyes that she looked up at every night and morning and gasped. Adrien Agreste. Bike crash. School. School! "Wait- wait, where am I? What am I doing in your car? I need to go to school!!"

Adrien placed his hand on her shoulder. She noticed a silver ring on his evenly tanned hand. It was fine, expensive, rare metal, not easy to find anywhere. He spoke calmly, reassuring her it was ok.

"Everything's going to be okay. You took a fall, but you seem to be fine. We go to the same school, and I'm running late too, so it's ok." And with a confused look still on her face, she turned and looked at him, wide-eyed.

"My name is Adrien. Adrien Agreste. I'm a senior, new at school as of today. I don't think I caught your name..."

Marinette looked behind her, looking for someone else he might be talking to and then back at him when she realized that it was him. "Uh, Mari- Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And I know who you are. I'm a junior- no, senior this year, so I guess we're in the same class? Hahahaha..."

Why am I like this. She sighed and looked out the window as they rolled to the school. When the huge driver pulled in to the drop-off, Marinette rushed out, said a quick Thank You to Adrien and the driver, and speed-walked to the main staircase, where her best friend Alya stood waiting, tapping away on her phone.

Marinette ran up to her and started whisper-screaming, "ALYA ALYA ALYA ALYAAA!!!!" Alya looked up, with a smile that only a best friend could have when their best friend has something "super important" to say.

"Girl, what's the matter? Your face is redder than Chloe when a hair is out of place!"

"Big news!!!! So... you know that model Adrien?"

"Yeah? That model you obsess over who went to our school once?"

"YEAH. Um. He is... KindaSortaMaybeInOurClass. ThisYear? AndIKindaRodeInHisCarToSchoolWhenICrashedIntoHimThisMorning? So, um, YEAH."

Alya looked at her and started laughing.

"Ha! You're so funny! He came that one year just to sample the Parisian schools! He wouldn't be going here, and what you said about going in his car was hilarious! Didn't you say he was in England or something?"

Just then, Adrien Agreste walked over to Marinette. He handed her a phone. My phone. Marinette's heart went bungee jumping off of a waterfall without a harness.

"Hey, uh, you forgot this. It was so great meeting you Marinette! We should hang out sometime! Do you know where the registration office is? My friend Nino should be waiting for me."

His smile was sincere, and she couldn't help but blush.

Marinette said, "Uh. Well. Yes!" and led him up to the office, avoiding Alya's expression of shock and teasing eyebrow raising.

~~~~~

NOVEMBER

The flyers were plastered all around the school, advertising this "event" Gabriel Agreste was talking about. It was a winter dance, but with a masquerade theme. Students were crowding around Adrien, just as he suspected, and when they asked him for autographs instead of a possible friendship, he gave up making friends with anyone except Nino. The dude did his job, he got him to his classes and blocked out hordes of fellow students craning their necks for a glance at the famous Adrien, but he was also a great friend to him.

Adrien was vaguely familiar with Chloe Bourgeois, the Mayor's daughter from his father's events and whatnot, but she was annoyingly clingy and a little bit stalker-like too, always expecting him to be with her in classes and projects.

He was fed up with the fans. After the rising star Adrien declared he wasn't attending his father's company's ball to take time off to work, Alya took a shot to encourage the crushed Marinette.

"We don't need anyone to go with, let's just go to have a good time! And don't you want an excuse to make another great dress?"

That cheered her up, and Marinette immediately started sketching in her book. She knew the possibilities of going to the dance with all the work from the Bourgeois family would be slim, but a faint glimmer of hope remained.

Adrien glanced at her, and noticing she was hard at work on something, his heart longed to get up and talk to her. Being one of the only friendly faces he met at the school, he was hoping to get to know her more.

But when he approached her, Marinette and her best friend Alya quickly walked away, like he did something wrong. Adrien couldn't think of anything wrong he did, but they were always whispering or staring at him. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his aching head and worked on his Physics homework.